One must view Juncker’s comments about nation states in the context of his situation. Both he and several of his predecessors originate from small, relatively insignificant countries and it is only to be expected that, as such, they would be of the view that their influence is hugely greater sitting in Brussels as part of a much larger entity. Such sentiments are entirely normal. Any notion that nation states at least in Europe are going to somehow melt away is clearly crazy. Let’s be frank: the two continental European states that matter are France and Germany. Are they about to subsume their national identities into a bi-national superstate? I doubt it. Ironically, the main historic reason behind France’s advocacy of ever greater European integration has been the desire to keep Germany in check. Why? To help keep France safe and sound. Yet another of those nutty European inconsistencies…

It’s not surprising that the bickering over departmental responsibilities has started.  Ask anyone who works at one of our embassies or consulates and they will tell you that the FO is primarily a trade-promoting body. So how can you split responsibilities?

Now that the dust has settled a bit since the Brexit vote, albeit with historically low interest rates and historically high levels of popular dissatisfaction with governments across Europe, I have noticed that Mr Juncker has been uncharacteristically quiet.  Is he on an extended Brussels vacation or has he been encouraged to keep stumm?  Does anyone know, or care, for that matter?